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116th out of 287 books
—
328 voters
Kingfishers Catch Fire
by
Rumer Godden
Sophie, a young English woman with two children, goes to set up home in fabulous Kashmir, finding a tumbled-down house in a valley carpeted with flowers below the Himalayas. Settling down to live there she is blissfully ignorant of the turmoil that her arrival produces. Sophies cook is finally prompted to take action and the consequences of his innocent plotting are catast...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
March 8th 2002
by Pan
(first published 1953)
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Set in 1950s Kashmir, the novel chronicles roughly a year in the life of a young widow and her two children, as she tries to life off the pension of her late husband (who worked in the Indian colonial civil service) by renting a cottage in a small mountain village and living as the only Europeans in the town. Godden drew on her own experiences living in Kashmir, the book has a strong sense of place and does a good job of drawing out the tensions between the various native and colonial cultures,...more
It took me a little time to open up to this book. The style was different from what I had recently read, and I wan't ready to work at reading. The book is worth the work, however. This book may make you want to travel to India. It opened my mind to adventure. This is not a travelogue. The beautifully described setting is Kashmir, and Kashmir culture is a topic of the story. The book is more about the realities we build for ourselves, our interpretation of culture, our desire for freedom and dign...more
It's been ages since I have read Rumer Godden and found this on the shelf in the library. Set in Kashmir it's the story of a very stubborn, and sometimes irritating, Englishwoman who takes her children to live away from the ex- pat community. She makes the presumption that she can change things for the better, which generally happened wherever the English went, and tragedy strikes when her family's presence upsets the balance of the village. Rumer Godden's descriptions are masterful and her desc...more
A young, stubborn englishwoman with her two little children moves to Kashmir and rents a house on a mountainside. While trying to live an idyllic existence amidst her orchards, flowers and beautiful vistas she inadvertently causes a serious catastrophe that affects her family and the families of all the villagers. By carefully ignorning social customs, glossing over errors she makes in how she interacts with local people and children, she just reinforces, in my mind, the caucasian trait (or mayb...more
Nov 28, 2008
Kyra
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Katie, Emma, Juliet, Julia
I first read this when I was about 13 and I re-read it every 10 years or so. Rumer Godden is one of the great unsung writers of the English language. Her books are exquisitely plotted, beautifully written and push & pull your emotions around. She almost always uses the perspective of children to balance the adult plots, and she does so to great effect.
I highly recommend absolutely anything written by Rumer Godden who was a fascinating woman in her own right as well as a superb writer. I only...more
I highly recommend absolutely anything written by Rumer Godden who was a fascinating woman in her own right as well as a superb writer. I only...more
As a very young child, I remember seeing this book on my mother's bookshelf. The exotic authors name and the title promised a great story within the covers, however I remember being so disappointed that the book was for adults and had no pictures! How could anyone read a book without pictures? Now as an adult I've read the book and conjured my own pictures in my mind of kashmir and the people. It tells of one woman's desire to live amongst the local people and how she struggled to fit in and be...more
This book begins ridiculously slowly and I've never been a theme of the British-in-India scenario as a good plotline (take that, A Little Princess!). However once I finally managed to get interested in it (a good way through the book) this develops into a piece of Rumer Godden genius. I would recommend skimming the first bit, nothing much happens.
Although not my favorite of Godden's novels, this story is, as all of hers are, well-told and interesting in content. Another look at multicultural society, this time from the mid 20th century in India. Somewhat dated now (published in 1953) it nevertheless has lessons we all can learn and put to use today.
Interesting story, beautifully written. Writing style takes some getting used to, but worth it to persevere. Written in 1953, still politically important.
A beautifully written book, showing a failure of communication between two very different cultures. Very sensitively portrayed.
Interesting portrait of an independent, free-thinking British woman raising her family by herself in India.
Jan 06, 2008
Clare Bear
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Clare by:
Mother
Rumer Goddens's female protagonists are always left of centre individuals with their own ideas on how to live.
Sophie, mother of two, takes her children with her to live in Kashmir, and this story is how she naively and bravely attempts not only to survive as a widowed white woman in a tribal village - but to blossom as well; to engage the village; to be engaged.
Sophie made mistakes, but she tried.
I enjoyed this work because Sophie never gave up, or settled for anything less than what she really...more
Sophie, mother of two, takes her children with her to live in Kashmir, and this story is how she naively and bravely attempts not only to survive as a widowed white woman in a tribal village - but to blossom as well; to engage the village; to be engaged.
Sophie made mistakes, but she tried.
I enjoyed this work because Sophie never gave up, or settled for anything less than what she really...more
amazing
What a brilliant book about responsibility. The child has a sense of it, her mother does not. In a "whatever", "go-with-the-flow" way, the mother is unintentionally quite dangerous. A subtle and precise portrait of negligent parenting.
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Read this as a child and plan to re-read to see if I love it as much now.
Possibly my favorite book.
Jun 12, 2013
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She was born in Sussex, England, but grew up in India, in Narayanganj. Many of her 60 books are set in India. Black Narcissus was made into a famous movie with Deborah Kerr in 1947.
Godden wrote novels, poetry, plays, biographies, and books for children.
For more information, see the official website: Rumer Godden
More about Rumer Godden...
Godden wrote novels, poetry, plays, biographies, and books for children.
For more information, see the official website: Rumer Godden
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